Shoku-Nin
by shokudo
Summary: How does one celebrate waking up to the end of a war, partially unscathed? He takes a long journey to the other side of the continent for his teammates after they leave him in a hospital room all by himself, of course. One must ensure their comrades' safety, after all. Ongoing.


**Author's Note: So here we are again. Well, me at least. I'm not sure if the folks who read Leaf Gaiden are checking this out, but if you are, hello again!**

 **Sorry it's been awhile since I've focused on Obito, but have you seen Akame ga kill? Ones kinda darker than the other but they're surprisingly easy to mesh together. No lie!**

 **If some of ya'll from Knucklehead Assassin are reading, please know that I won't be shifting focus, and I'll do my best to stick to a schedule of sorts. After Shoku-nin, I'll update Knucklehead Assassin, then this, and so forth.**

 **This was beta'd by the amazing Yaxon btw. Definitely cleaned this up nicely if you ask me. So do both of us a favor and check out his stuff too. On top of the awesome epic he's got going on, the crack-fics he writes are guaranteed to give a chuckle or two. Or twenty.**

 **Chapter One: It's a long story...**

One figure, garbed in dark cloaks and a pale yellow flame decaled mask, zipped over the small creek and deeper into the seemingly endless forestry, hoping to evade his soon-to-be captors. His moppy raven black hair swayed with the late afternoon breeze, and the cloak he wore billowed along with every panicked sprinting step he took.

No matter how far the masked man saw through the single peephole through his mask, he was faced with the possibility that the Konoha squadron assigned to capture him might've been able to end their week-long search. It was pessimistic, sure, but sometimes the outcome wasn't always the one desired. The masked man could attest to that completely. But then again, even if they managed to catch him, not much would've been done. There would've been precautionary measures placed to ensure the raven-haired teenager didn't even think of escape once more, and a scolding from Minato-sensei, but that was kinda it. Nothing major.

In all honesty, he didn't even know why he began the somewhat desperate and childish search for his comrades. They weren't in any danger, excluding the default amount of peril shinobi regularly endured throughout their careers. But still, when the masked man awoke from a supposed four day slumber, he felt the nagging urge to check up on his teammates, most notably the subject of his affections, Rin Nohara.

The problem was, his comrades were gone. Not dead, of course, just on a mission supposedly in Kiri.

So with Kakashi and Rin gone, there wasn't much to do. At the hospital, the raven-haired boy wasn't allowed outside the room for security reasons, although the truckload of fanmail he received daily more than made up for it.

News of his sacrifice during the Third Great Ninja War had quickly spread throughout the Elemental Nations. Because of him, the previous war was put to a halt with the destruction of the Kannabi Bridge. So he was world famous, then. A war hero.

The thought made him smirk behind his mask. Him, of all people, famous. He would've went right over to the residence of Fugaku Uchiha and his wife, who was probably his distant cousin, Mikoto Uchiha to gloat; that he, Obito Uchiha, embarrassment of the Uchiha Clan, was even more well-known than the clan itself. But as it was written, the raven-haired boy wasn't allowed outside the hospital room. That didn't matter much, though, 'cause hey, irony performs wonders whenever it's convenient.

"Obito Uchiha!"

His thoughts were interrupted as a reminder of the present danger he was in hit him with full force. A fairly deep voice called out, "Surrender at once!" Obito didn't even bother remembering which Jonin it was, an average squad of three were more than enough in his opinion.

Although he didn't dare check his six o'clock, Obito definitely counted about three sets of footsteps trailing behind; and fast. A small team if his capture really was as urgent as it seemed. The thought made him wonder if he could've been considered a Missing-nin at that point.

Huh. Obito hadn't considered the possibility while he was making his escape.

So he leaped up into the trees, making sure he made it to his undetermined destination even faster than what was originally planned. Missing-nin, if not killed on sight, were set on trial, and the judgement call was usually death anyway. And while Obito was positive he would've been able to take them, four experienced Jonin killed in action would have easily put him in the bingo books. For now, all Obito could've done was keep running and hope he managed to shake them sooner rather than later. There had to something-anything he could have used as a distraction at that point!

One of his first instincts were to dive into the ground and burrow his way to safety, but Obito didn't know any Earth Style Jutsu.

The Jonin were catching up, and there wasn't anything the raven-haired boy could use for cover. The ground was his only option.

Sliding a palm under his cloak, Obito reached for the weapon holster strapped to his leg, and whipped out several kunai as he jumped off the next branch, before diving headfirst for the ground, already adjusting his chakra to get a feel for the earth's inner workings. But before the masked man could infiltrate the dirt itself, or hilariously collapse to a thousand pieces onto the earthen threshold, everything within his field of vision got fuzzy, and soon enough, Obito felt the Chakra signatures fade away.

Miles away, Obito rematerialized, falling over a couple times before he ultimately skidded to a stop. Good thing his mask took most of the damage, he thought, picking himself up and placing a hand to his mask. Minor damage, he noted; there was probably a crack somewhere near the eye hole, but that was about it. He'd probably have to get a new one soon anyway if the authorities were able to identify him so easily.

But alas, his musings were cut short when an earth-splitting pressure soon found its way into the Uchiha's forehead. Grunting, Obito forced both hands to his head, and slowly got on one knee; the pressure was all too much. Then, a wave of nausea wormed its way in, and he was scrambling to lift up his mask and empty his stomach region, which caused even more discomfort due to the fact that he hadn't eaten in well over a week. Obito was of course mindful of the cape part of his hooded cloak.

"Damn Kamui." The raven-haired boy cursed his soon-to-be signature Jutsu, lowering the plastic item held together by tiny bits of chakra to shield his face from the elements; the strain on his body that came with Kamui's use was unbearable. It was why he refrained from using it very often.

But then again, Obito only discovered the Jutsu while at the hospital, when he somehow made one of the bland and overall atrocious hospital meals disappear-literally. While he held his head tight, he considered going to Minato for assistance. He was probably much more proficient in Teleportation Ninjutsu than he, if the Kage earned the namesake "Yellow Flash" after the war.

Obito lifted his head, and deactivated his flaring Sharingan, then took in his surroundings. He was still in the forest, that was no surprise, but the small hut in front of an even smaller creek certainly stood out. He briefly considered knocking on the door to ask if the resident's seen or at least heard of the so-called "Copy-Nin Kakashi". If he managed to find ol' one eye, Rin wouldn't be too far, as was their agreement that Kakashi looked after her.

A loud grumble tore through the peaceful silence, along with the constant rhythm of cicadas and the grasshopper's even tempo, like a knife. Slowly Obito gathered the gusto to look down at the source; his stomach.

"Heh, should probably get something to eat while I'm at it." The masked man hadn't eaten anything since he left, and he even skipped a couple meals back at the village. So that made it about-a week?

Weird. Any other day he would've been starving by now, Obito mused, ambling to the small house, food on his mind more than anything. Maybe if he revealed himself he'd get a free meal, or was his fame not already mentioned?

 **…**

"What the hell was that?! Where'd he go?!" The Konoha-nin took impatient steps around the area where Obito Uchiha dematerialized. They'd been chasing the kid for over an hour now, and he literally disappeared! Needless to say, Taiki was not a happy man, not in the slightest. The brunette frustratingly ran his gloved hands through his matted down brown locks, "I just don't get it. Hokage-sama didn't mention the...abilities the kid was supposed to have. Hell, Did he even know?"

"Not very likely." The only hooded member of their capture party replied in monotone from his spot set on the ground. "My insects didn't catch anything like that while they watched him." Taiki wasn't able to tell if he was annoyed or not; the bandages shielding his comrade's eyes made that more of a chore than anything. But Taiki couldn't really complain; it wasn't the guy's fault he was blind. But even then, if he were to guess, knowing the man since late childhood, maybe he was just frustrated?

Another reminder that Kyozen really was the ideal shinobi to add to the collection. He was always calm, cool, and collected, no matter the setbacks. But being a member of the Aburame Clan, it either ran in his genes, or was a requirement in itself. Because hey, it was very rare to walk through the Aburame compound without seeing at least one member in a thick, baggy jacket with something covering one part of the face at a minimum, and Kyozen was no exception.

But that little tidbit was of no importance at the present moment, Yuuki knew that.

"Maybe if we actually snuck up on him like I said we should've, I would have caught him with my Shadow Possession, and he'd be with us by now," she drawled, hooded eyes conveying her lack of amusement from Taiki's overreaction. He always did get worked up over just about anything, even as children.

"The last time we tried that, he was already up and running. It was like he could sense us or something!" The brunette comically flailed his arms for added effect. The last thing he wanted to do was let down the Hokage, especially in a time like this. He looked up to the man, for God's sake! He was in his graduating class, but still!

Yuuki placed some of her hair behind her ear. It was straight, accompanied with shoulder-length with bangs that concealed her ears and framed her face, just the way she liked it.

"Well, let's just try again," Yuuki reasoned, "Kyozen tails him with his bugs, you confront him directly, and as he's distracted, I'll nab him with his own shadow, same plan."

Because it was quite obvious full frontal assault wasn't gonna work.

The remaining members of the newly assembled Team 4 considered the next course of action. While they (well, primarily Taiki) would have loved to object and think of something else, there wasn't much room for disagreement left. While Yuuki was definitely the calmest within their squad, save for Kyozen, her temper flowed in sync with her patience, when the time arose, of course.

From his spot perched on the forest earth, the Aburame sighed.

 **…**

So no one lived in the hut Obito stumbled upon. The tiny, more than likely improvised home was completely barren, save for a single wooden table, and creaky chairs to match. So he was still walking through Konoha's vast forest, hands folded grasping the back of his neck, still pretty hungry if you were to ask him.

But at least the raven-haired boy bought himself some time; He left his mask in the middle of the small room so his pursuers would think he set up shop there or something. And while they ran around the area in search for him, Obito would already be kilometers away, enjoying the sights during the search for Rin and Kakashi. Well, Rin.

Now that his mask was off, his scarred face was revealed to the world, the right side particularly sensitive to the cool, nighttime wind. It was kinda ticklish, if he had to describe the sensation.

Strangely, he didn't have the urge to succumb to fatigue, because he didn't have any. Sure, the raven-haired boy rested in a cave not too long ago, but that was over three days back. Sensei always reminded him that sleep was necessary to preserve energy, but he definitely wasn't slipping in terms of strength. In fact, he felt more than ready enough to take on several of Tobirama Senju's infamous Shadow Clones.

...Okay, maybe not that prepared, but still up and at 'em nonetheless, with no sign of ceasing anytime soon.

And that wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen to him in recent events; the tender material replacing his right arm, which assumed a sickly shade of white, took that title by force, it seemed. The doctors more than likely didn't know anything about it, since they left it on his body. One of the two Anbu guards outside his hospital door mentioned that it appeared to function as a replacement arm, since his other one was crushed beyond medical repair on the day of the Kannabi bridge mission.

So for now, the raven-haired boy would learn to live with it. He had the sneaking suspicion that it was responsible for his body's self-perseverance, however.

But nothing could explain the Sharingan eye in his left socket, the one he vividly remembered giving to Kakashi during his assumed final moments, especially when donating Sharingan eyes were forbidden, even if given to family members. Obito could only imagine the hell Kakashi went through when he returned to the village with an undocumented Sharingan implant.

But at least Rin would be protected, that's all that mattered.

Such a shame...he never was able to tell her…

A look of determination etching across Obito's features; Well, maybe he'd fix that! Maybe he'd swoop in at the right moment and sweep the beautiful brunette off her feet, crimson irises meeting chocolate ones. Then he'll lean in, and tell Rin exactly how he felt, in perfect detail!

Thump!

The raven-haired teenager focused his vision, blinking rapidly. It took much effort to acknowledge what had just happened, Uchiha or not.

He walked into a tree.

It was then that he realized he was imagining things. He instantly walked around the trunk, avoided the undergrowth, and continued onto his path, as though he hadn't imagined his reunion with Rin using a particular scene he may or may not have stolen from the one children's book he read to himself as a child. He had kept it all to himself because he kept forgetting to return it to the library.

Running a hand through his wild charcoal locks, Obito figured once this was all over, once he made sure his comrades weren't going to die, he'd probably look into getting a girlfriend.

But then let out a snort.

"Pfft, nah." He'll prove himself worthy of her feelings. Eventually. It won't be too long after he's bested Kakashi, and became Hokage. By then she'll hopefully reconsider her infatuation with his teammate.

Obito never did understand how Kakashi managed to gain her affections without having to lift so much as a finger.

A rustling above caught his attention, and instinctively, his Sharingan flared in response. The raven looked upwards, his Dojutsu utilizing a function similar to what fellow shinobi dubbed, night vision. Only without the assumed color the world would take a shade of.

Contrary to popular belief, the legendary Sharingan didn't turn the world a bright shade of scarlet. Instead everything was just brighter, flashing with clarity. He could see the tiniest details of every stray leaf and grain on soil with stark resolution. Only when focusing on a particular object hard enough did his view become a transparent red.

What he saw was only a wild animal, scurrying through the branches above, zipping through the trees ahead with the grace of a small mammal. Had it been an enemy-nin Obito might've been impressed; the only animals around were the ones that stalked prey on all fours. It was so obvious it practically made the Chūnin scrunch raven-colored eyebrows in distaste.

Summon animals were never too far from their Summoners, not even the ones that gathered information, which he easily deduced was above him, since it didn't attack directly like most offensive-type summons. It was more than likely defensive, the ones that protected their masters when necessary. But then again, the rustle he heard was so low it was more than likely info gathering, like Kakashi's Ninken, which were very small, smaller than the cyclops would like to admit.

The Chunin deactivated his Dojutsu, and deeply inhaled. While the Konoha-Nin were chasing him, he found early on that he was always able to sense them just before they caught up to him.

It came as a shock of course, to discover that Obito was a sensor-type, especially when nobody noticed, not even him! So all throughout, he began training himself mentally to sense chakra signatures, and soon he projected that he'd be able to constantly be aware of his surroundings.

Granted, he wasn't able to actually differentiate separate signatures, but he was still coming along headstrong.

And as Obito concentrated to get a feel for the area around him, a bead of sweat dangled under his brow at the intensity he was pouring into his focus. That however, was his struggle's only indicator. Outside, he was the epitome of collected. The raven-haired boy continued on his way, arms returned to their previous spot folded behind his neck. Kakashi would be proud.

He walked as though nothing was wrong, as though he wasn't scanning his surroundings for an enemy presence for the next few minutes. Eventually his senses honed in on one person, closing in on his location. Just before it would have presumably struck, the signature slowed, and began following the Chūnin like a shadow.

'Probably waiting for an opening,' Obito inwardly mused, weighing the option of revealing his impending opponent's location.

But Sensei always did advise that information was similar to a stack of betting chips; all individual pieces were valuable and placing them all in one go was always a bad idea. Although Kushina overheard and definitely wasn't pleased about Minato alluding to a secret gambling habit, with the blond quickly revealing that it was something his colleague Shikaku passed onto him, Obito had to admit that that was a sound piece of advice. But then again, would anyone have expected less from a Nara?

He heard the nearby rustle of a bush close to him, too close for the raven-haired boy's liking, and mentally noted that his newest pursuer wasn't very skilled.

He finally spoke, deciding to play along with the fellow shinobi's schemes to spare him or her the embarrassment. Dramatically looking to and fro in a painstakingly fake expression of distress, Obito changed his tone throughout the impending monologue.

"Oh no! I am utterly lost. Me, the self-sacrificing, amazingly handsome, master of the Sharingan Obito Uchiha!"

Too bad the raven-haired boy was a horrible actor, who used exaggeration to make up for it.

The Chūnin felt the nearby chakra signature tense.

"It is such a shame too, the way this all had to go down." Obito's position varied between dramatic poses he'd seen in that one play he saw long ago, for added effect, "I'm sure I will be safe so long as I find shelter, but alas, what shelter is there in a forest as vast and unforgiving as Hi no Kuni's?"

The raven-haired boy heard a growling, and felt the unknown presence tense once more.

Then with a sidestep, he carefully avoided the snake that shot out after him from the nearby undergrowth. Obito heard it dispel from behind. A Snake Summoner?

His assumptions were correct then; snakes blurred the line between defensive and offensive. The Summons varied between sizes and depending on the actual summoner, their uses were all-purpose.

The raven-haired boy glanced at the unknown Snake Summoner, and gave a sigh of relief when it was a Leaf Genin-well, maybe Chūnin, he honestly couldn't tell.

It was a girl, more than likely his age, appearing to have a thing for fishnet apparel, if the armbands and stockings were anything to go by. The violet hair was styled in a short, spiked fan ponytail and was, if anything, her most distinguishing feature. To him at least.

"Don't insult me." She all but growled, pupil-less, amber eyes narrowed. She adjusted the tight grip she held on her kunai, ready to send a horde of pythons from her short sleeves. It was a longshot, but the Chūnin had been working on the specific Jutsu for a while now.

Her sensei hadn't helped much, unfortunately.

As Obito inspected her from afar, he pondered her actual business attacking him. If they sent three experienced Jonin after him, it wouldn't make much sense to downgrade and have a Chūnin track him down as well. His sensei was smarter than that. So what was she doing then?

"So, uhh...can I help you or something? 'Cause I sorta have somewhere else to be right now." The raven-haired teenager said, before meeting her kunai swipe with another one seemingly pulled from thin air. When he grabbed the stranger's free wrist to halt the second strike, she improvised immediately and shot out a snake from her sleeve, forcing the raven-haired boy to gain necessary distance through a Shunshin.

Alright then.

Obito relaxed his stance. Placing a hand behind his neck, he sighed, "You're not gonna let me off the hook, are you."

The girl grit her teeth in response. The way this guy was acting so...carefree, it pissed her off! Like she wasn't strong enough to be considered a threat. Who the hell did he think he was, anyway?

"Hell no." She replied, trusting the message she sent via snake had already been delivered.

"Welp, I guess I should've expected that." the raven-haired boy said, preparing for the showdown about to take place between him and…"Say, I never caught your name."

The girl blinked once, twice, before narrowing them once more.

"Anko. Anko Mitarashi."

 _As in dango?_ "Well," Obito's Sharingan flared to existence, the usually menacing red hue impressively not fazing his fellow Chūnin one bit. "I always did love a good fight, y'know? Think you can keep up with me Anko-chan?"

The raven-haired boy teased. Instead of assuming a fighting stance, he opted to remain in place. When he struck it would throw his opponent off, and if he managed to dodge her attacks, it would all but infuriate her. People often resorted to recklessness when angered. Obito should know, seeing as how he was no different-is no different.

Maybe if he found a new mask it would be much more imposing than a smirking fourteen year old with awful war scars.

His opponent charged forward, dual kunai drawn.

 **Author's Note: My beta mentioned that it may feel like we're in the middle of the story, but rest assured, that's intentional. I want to create an air of uncertainty within. Especially since there's something going on right under Obito's nose. I won't reveal that much but I will say this, it probably won't be what you'd expect.**

 **Onto the OC's.**

 **Literally _nobody_ from Minato's generation is named, or even mentioned, except Kushina Uzumaki, and Minato himself. Sure there's Inoichi and Choji's dad, but they have much more important things to do at the moment. This alludes to that thing going on was tellin ya'll about, btw.**

 **But anyway!**

 **I decided to place my OC's in there. Don't worry, they aren't Mary Sues, or overpowered or anything like that. They're merely regular Jonin who've been assigned to capture Obito and return him to the village, that's all.**

 **If you've got any questions, concerns, or hey, if this is straight up trash, leave a PM, or drop a review.**

 **Shoku out!**


End file.
